"Kusaka, how many times have I told you?"

"'Repelling the foreigners' is our means, not our goal!"

"Our primary goal is to use the name of 'repelling the foreigners' to suppress the shogunate, drag the shogunate into troubled waters and weaken its strength, while we are left alone."

"Even if we take a hundred steps back, even if we want to resist the foreigners, it will definitely not happen now."

"We are still no match for Xiyi."

"In short, no matter how the shogunate reacts on May 10, three days later, we cannot be the first to lead the war against the foreigners!"

"If we interfere in the war against the foreigners without authorization, we will fall into an extremely disadvantageous and embarrassing situation!"

As soon as Takasugi Shinsaku finished speaking, Kusaka Genrui turned his eyes and looked at him coldly.

"Gaoshan, I really look down on you more and more."

"It's a shame that you can call yourself 'A Kuangsheng of the West Sea'."

"Stop calling it 'A Kuangsheng from the West Sea'! Call it 'A Turtle from the West Sea' instead!"

"I only know how to fight for power and profit all day long, playing with your cleverness, and completely forgetting the righteousness!"

Takasugi Shinsaku instantly frowned, his slender face suddenly tense.

"What did you say?"

"You risk your life rashly, endanger the overall situation, and use your samurai sword to resist the Western cannons - is this your 'righteousness'?"

As he spoke, he grabbed the saber by his leg, stood up suddenly, and faced Genrui Kusaka fiercely.

Hisaka Genrui did not give in, he narrowed his eyes and stared at Takasugi Shinsaku.

Upon seeing this, Katsura Kogoro stood up quickly and hurriedly, running between Takasugi Shinsaku and Hisaka Genzui, using his own body to separate the two.

"Okay, okay! Don't argue!"

"We are all from Changzhou, and we are all fellow disciples!"

"What does it look like when brothers fight against each other?"

When talking about the "Three Heroes of Changzhou", people's first impression is often that they are outstanding, very outstanding.

He has a dignified appearance and is both civil and military.

All three of them studied under the thinker Yoshida Shoin, and they were brothers in the same school. Takasugi Shinsaku and Hisasaka Genzui were even known as the "Yoshida duo".

But in fact, outsiders often don't understand that the three of them are not completely of the same mind.

As the old saying goes - partisanship is everywhere!

Not only the shogunate, but also the imperial court had party disputes, and even the Choshu clan had party disputes.

The Choshu clan is divided into two major factions: the "Seron school" and the "Justice school".

The former is close to the shogunate and always maintains the same political stance as the shogunate.

The latter hated the shogunate and advocated fighting against the barbarians.

The loyal "Justice Faction" is divided into two factions - the "Slippery Faction" led by Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro, and the "Hardline Faction" led by Hisasaka Genzui.

Although both sides use the banner of "repelling the foreigners", the difference between the two can be seen just from the names.

Slickers - As the name suggests, their ideas are very slippery.

Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro both knew how powerful the Western countries were.

To them, the so-called "rejecting the barbarians" is just a slogan and a useful weapon - a weapon specially used to deal with the shogunate.

As for the hardliners, it's much simpler - they just want to fight against the barbarians, and rebelling against the rebels is just a matter of support. Because the shogunate is unwilling to resist the barbarians, they rebel against the rebels.

Previously, Takasugi Shinsaku, like Kusaka Gensui, was the most determined hardliner.

It wasn't until last year's trip to Shanghai that Takasugi Shinsaku changed his mind.

Last year, in February of the second year of Bunkyu (1862), when the shogunate sent the "Chitose Maru" to Shanghai for trade, Takasugi Shinsaku went with the ship along with Tomohashi the Fifth Generation of the Satsuma Domain and Nakamu Kuranosuke of the Saga Domain.

During his two-month stay in Shanghai, Takasugi Shinsaku took every possible approach to observe the situation in China.

During his stay, he wrote down what he saw, heard and thought: foreign merchant ships were racing in Tianjin Port, foreign shops were lined up in the streets, groups of sailors disembarked from warships to perform tasks, the Waibaidu Bridge on the Suzhou River only faced

Open to foreigners free of charge...

He keenly pointed out: "The situation in Shanghai can be said to be that of a British state" and "This time is definitely not a fire across the shore... Who can guarantee that our country will not suffer from this situation? It is very dangerous!".

In addition, through this trip to Shanghai, he clearly realized that the future is an era of new cannons and warships!

In this way, after returning from Shanghai, he transformed from a hard-liner to a slippery one, and began to argue with Gensui Kusaka, who always adhered to the hard-line line.

In essence, Kusaka Genrui is not a fool who sits in a well and watches the sky.

He actually knows the strength of Western countries very well.

However, he was an idealist: he would rather die a heroic death than live an ignoble existence.

He still couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart - as a decent man, how could he watch Westerners being tyrannical?

Even if there is no chance of winning, we must fight to the end - this is the inner thought of Kusaka Gensui.

Hisaka Genzui represents what a large part of people with lofty ideals think and think.

"..."

Hisaka Genzui looked at Katsura Kogoro, then at Takasugi Shinsaku, and then left quickly without saying a word.

"Hey! Wait! Kusaka! I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Takasugi Shinsaku gave chase.

Hisaka Genrui's response came faintly in the distance:

"You haven't said enough, but I've heard enough."

…

…

Even the heroes of Satsuma and Choshu were at a loss by Hitotsubashi Kei's tricks, let alone Ayoto and others in the shogunate camp.

No matter which angle you look at it, Hitotsubashi's celebration is incomprehensible.

For a time, the saying that "King Hitotsubashi is crazy" spread throughout Kyoto and beyond.

Aoto, Matsudaira Yoshiho, and other high-ranking shogunate officials currently stationed in Beijing, took turns to go to battle, and went straight to Nijo Castle, vowing to seek an explanation from Hitotsubashi Keiki.

Especially Qingteng and Matsudaira Yongho - both of them are generals with soldiers in their hands.

If we really want to go to war with the Western countries, then they will be the first to bear the brunt.

The Shinsengumi is still a classical army and has not yet transformed into a modern army with guns and artillery.

Being enemies with the armies of the Western countries... Not to mention the strongest British and French armies, even the US and Russian armies can severely suppress the Shinsengumi.

Even Tokugawa Iemo and Tenzouin were caught off guard.

According to Tenzouin himself, after learning about the trouble that Hitotsubashi Keiki had caused, Tokugawa Iemo directly performed "Sitting Up in Surprise in a Dying Sickness".

In this way, Kazuhashi Qingxi, who had aroused public anger, was surrounded by people and held accountable.

However, he acted like a turtle.

He locked himself in his room and refused to see guests or go out.

Even though Tokugawa Iemo issued strict orders, he refused to leave the room on the grounds of "physical discomfort."

After all, Hitotsubashi Keiki was a post-shogunate and the spiritual leader of the "hitotsubashi faction". He refused to see anyone, and Tokugawa Iemo had nothing to do with him.

One day later, that is, on May 8, everyone learned the news like a bolt from the blue - Hitotsubashi Keiji had disappeared!

In the middle of the night on May 7th, he quietly left Nijo Castle and sneaked back to Edo!

By the time everyone knew his whereabouts, he had already crossed Otsu and was walking on the road back to Edo with great swagger.

His "escape" was carried out without informing anyone in advance.

Even Matsudaira Chunaku was kept in the dark.

Kazuhashi Qingxi ran away, and everyone's anger could only be directed at Matsudaira Harugaku.

Faced with the public's indictment, Matsudaira Harugaku felt like crying without tears.

In the end, under pressure, Matsudaira Chunyue had to tell the truth.

In this way, after Matsudaira Chunaku's "decryption", everyone finally learned the real reason why Hitotsubashi celebrated Haikou's boast that "on May 10, the fight against the barbarians began" - there was no special reason.

Nothing thoughtful.

There is no backup plan.

It's just a whim.

Yes, on a whim!

To be more precise, it was a moment of excitement!
To be continued...